Tamoj

The Polish group Sutari have always said their music (and name) was influenced by Lithuanian sutartinės, a polyphonic vocal form. On this record with Polish instrumental trio Bastarda (clarinet, contrabass clarinet, cello), the musicians are exploring music of the Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian borderlands, but in an experimental and improvisatory-sounding way. The opening track ‘Ty Pójdziesz Góra’ starts low on the instruments until the voices come with a solemn melody in unison. Over five minutes the repeated melody is gradually elaborated with polyphony and countermelodies ending in a pretty high register. It's strangely unsettling. The fast and rhythmic track that follows, ‘Tam nad Puszczaj’, is much lighter listening.

The overall tone is solemn and brooding, less playful than Sutari's previous releases, but that's because of the subject matter. The key songs are ‘Granita / Pasienio / Hranicia’ (‘Border’ in Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian), a picture of people divided by borders and languages, and ‘Wojenka’ (War), a song with lyrics 100 years old about a girl accompanying her man to war ‘far away to Ukraine.’ The performances from singers Basia Songin and Kasia Kapela are intense and there are moments of great beauty with both the voices and instruments in this work. A powerful statement.